HOUSTON - Texas is projected to roughly double in size between now and 2050, and Harris County is expected to add the most new residents of any county, according to county-level data released by the Texas Office of the State Demographer.

When it comes to percentage growth, suburban counties — including some in the Houston area — are projected to grow the fastest.

In terms of absolute growth, Harris County, which encompasses Houston, is set to see the largest number of new residents in the state by 2050, with 3.4 million new residents projected by then. But because the county is already large — it had more than 4 million residents as of 2010 — that's only a growth rate of 83.9 percent.

It's interesting to note that the Texas counties that encompass the state's largest metropolises are projected to grow at a much slower rate than their bordering suburban counties.

In the Houston region, for example, Harris County's growth rate is dwarfed by projected growth in Fort Bend County to the south, which will grow by 367.8 percent with the addition of 2.1 million new residents by 2050.

The chart below shows the five fastest growing counties by 2050 ranked by absolute change.